Swindon to bid for City Status

Swindon is to bid for City Status in a competition for towns to become cities to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Two previous bids – in 1999 and to mark the Millennium, and in 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee – were unsuccessful.

When the last opportunity arose for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Swindon Borough Council decided not to bid.

And as early as the beginning of this month the official line was that the council would not be making a bid for 2022, saying there was “no tangible evidence” that Swindon or its economy would benefit.

However Swindon Conservations have now launched a bid, but pledged that the taxpayer would not bear the cost of the application.

Instead of hiring consultants, they say councillors, residents, businesses and community groups will put together the bid.

Cllr Dale Heenan, cabinet member for regeneration, culture and heritage, said: “We should all be ambitious for our town, be proud of where we live and a City of Swindon bid will be great for raising Swindon’s profile and help to tackle any negative perceptions.

“We are serious about this bid and are determined to make Swindon’s case in a way never done before. The Conservatives believe that our best chance of success is to work with local businesses, local community groups and local residents.

“We have to be honest no-one is going to think differently about Swindon because we are a town one day, and a city the next. Yet there are so many ways that this competition can be used to promote and be positive about Swindon, and we intend to do our best to maximise these opportunities.

“We are all too familiar with a small minority who like to moan about Swindon and this bid can help tackle this issue head up. Let’s all find ways to be positive about everything that Swindon has to offer.”

Other Conservative councillors have thrown their weight behind the proposal.

Cllr Jenny Jefferies said: “Swindon is one of the UK’s largest towns and we all know about the 1842 Great railway works, but this scratches the surface of Swindon’s history.

“It dates back more than 2,000 years to Roman times, we were a village mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, we were a blueprint for the NHS, we had the UK’s first lending library and we built Spitfires in WW2.

“I want local residents to come forward with their ideas, and say what should be included about Swindon’s identity, and any interesting heritage, history and traditions.”

And Cllr Curtis Flux said: “Our local City of Swindon Status bid will be different to anything that has happened before.

“Swindon is a vibrant and welcoming community, and we will passionately advocate bringing families, community, and business people together.

“It is a great opportunity for Swindon to be proud about where we live.

“We have an amazing record of innovation that we should all shout about and I hope this bid reminds potential investors that Swindon is open for business. As we bounce back from Covid, let’s show our pride about Swindon.”

The application form asks for a one page summary of the town, and no more than eight pages of supporting information covering:

• Distinct identity
• Civic pride
• Cultural infrastructure, interesting heritage, history and traditions
• Vibrant and welcoming community
• Record of innovation
• Sound governance and administration
• Associations with Royalty
• Other particularly distinctive features, age, residents or communities who have made widely recognised significant contributions to society and cultural infrastructure

The criteria also demands a maximum 10 pages on a profile of the area, such as statistics, economic activity, and green spaces.

And up to 50 photos of permanent features of the town can be submitted.

The competition will close on December 8 and “all valid entries will receive individual consideration on their merits, before recommendations are made to the Queen by ministers.”

Brighton and Hove, Wolverhampton, and Inverness became cities in 1999. In 2002 Preston, Newport in South Wales, Stirling, and Northern Ireland’s Lisburn and Newry were granted city status. And in 2012 bids by Chelmsford, Perth and St Asaph – now second-smallest city in Britain with a population of just over 3,000 – were successful.

With a population of over 185,000, Swindon is one of the UK’s largest towns, but by no means the largest. That accolade goes to Bournemouth, with 466,000 residents. Middlesbrough, Birkenhead, Reading, Southend, Luton, Farnborough/Aldershot, Gillingham, Blackpool, Milton Keynes, and Northampton are all larger.

It is, however, larger than neighbouring cities including Oxford (152,000), Gloucester (150,000), Bath (89,000), and Salisbury (40,000).

Pictured: Swindon from Radnor Street Cemetery published under Creative Commons licence